A vehicle is refuelled at a petrol station in Rosebank, Johannesburg on April 1, 2026, a day after South Africa lowered its fuel tax for a month to offset a global oil price surge driven by the Iran war, even as pump prices rose in one of the steepest increases on record. (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP via Getty Images)

Timo Wollmershaeuser, Deputy Director of the ifo Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys, speaks with journalists after a press conference given by leading economic institutes to present their growth forecasts for Germany, on April 1, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. Leading economic institutes more than halved their growth forecasts for Germany, warning that the energy shock caused by the Middle East war would hit Europe's top economy hard. A group of leading institutes slashed their joint growth forecast for 2026 to 0.6 percent, down from a September 2025 prediction of 1.3 percent. Inflation is now forecast to rise to 2.8 percent, up from 2.0 percent, "weighing on household purchasing power". (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP via Getty Images)

Timo Wollmershaeuser, Deputy Director of the ifo Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys, speaks with journalists after a press conference given by leading economic institutes to present their growth forecasts for Germany, on April 1, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. Leading economic institutes more than halved their growth forecasts for Germany, warning that the energy shock caused by the Middle East war would hit Europe's top economy hard. A group of leading institutes slashed their joint growth forecast for 2026 to 0.6 percent, down from a September 2025 prediction of 1.3 percent. Inflation is now forecast to rise to 2.8 percent, up from 2.0 percent, "weighing on household purchasing power". (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP via Getty Images)

Timo Wollmershaeuser, Deputy Director of the ifo Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys, speaks with journalists after a press conference given by leading economic institutes to present their growth forecasts for Germany, on April 1, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. Leading economic institutes more than halved their growth forecasts for Germany, warning that the energy shock caused by the Middle East war would hit Europe's top economy hard. A group of leading institutes slashed their joint growth forecast for 2026 to 0.6 percent, down from a September 2025 prediction of 1.3 percent. Inflation is now forecast to rise to 2.8 percent, up from 2.0 percent, "weighing on household purchasing power". (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP via Getty Images)

Timo Wollmershaeuser, Deputy Director of the ifo Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys, speaks with journalists after a press conference given by leading economic institutes to present their growth forecasts for Germany, on April 1, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. Leading economic institutes more than halved their growth forecasts for Germany, warning that the energy shock caused by the Middle East war would hit Europe's top economy hard. A group of leading institutes slashed their joint growth forecast for 2026 to 0.6 percent, down from a September 2025 prediction of 1.3 percent. Inflation is now forecast to rise to 2.8 percent, up from 2.0 percent, "weighing on household purchasing power". (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP via Getty Images)

Timo Wollmershaeuser, Deputy Director of the ifo Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys, speaks with journalists after a press conference given by leading economic institutes to present their growth forecasts for Germany, on April 1, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. Leading economic institutes more than halved their growth forecasts for Germany, warning that the energy shock caused by the Middle East war would hit Europe's top economy hard. A group of leading institutes slashed their joint growth forecast for 2026 to 0.6 percent, down from a September 2025 prediction of 1.3 percent. Inflation is now forecast to rise to 2.8 percent, up from 2.0 percent, "weighing on household purchasing power". (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP via Getty Images)

Timo Wollmershaeuser, Deputy Director of the ifo Center for Macroeconomics and Surveys, speaks with journalists after a press conference given by leading economic institutes to present their growth forecasts for Germany, on April 1, 2026 in Berlin, Germany. Leading economic institutes more than halved their growth forecasts for Germany, warning that the energy shock caused by the Middle East war would hit Europe's top economy hard. A group of leading institutes slashed their joint growth forecast for 2026 to 0.6 percent, down from a September 2025 prediction of 1.3 percent. Inflation is now forecast to rise to 2.8 percent, up from 2.0 percent, "weighing on household purchasing power". (Photo by John MACDOUGALL / AFP via Getty Images)

The sun rises behind a pylon and power lines in Frankfurt am Main, western Germany, on April 1, 2026. (Photo by Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP via Getty Images)